What a day!!!!

[mcwell]

So my friend and I decided to leave Michigan on Thursday morning and do some storm chasing on Friday. This was our first time chasing and befriended some great people here on stormtrack. So off we went. We made it to Joplin MO and spent Thursday night there. Well, let's just say we awoke to a great storm (much better from Michigan standards). A line of storms rolled through and got our blood moving pretty well. Then the tornado sirens blared! That was round 1...

On Friday morning, we moved into OK and proceeded toward the Ada area on advice from more stormtrack people. We saw the masses of storm chasers gathering near Ardmore and waited there for something to develop. It sure did. And to top it off, we ran into the TIV crew and tagged along. We stayed back as to not annoy them and we circled a nice supercell north of Ardmore. It looked pretty good (again much better then Michigan) and we got to punch the core. We had some pretty good looking skies and some huge rain, wind and quarter sized hail.

Now we head back to Michigan on Saturday with some great stories and pictures and a greater appreciation for those who storm chase or forecast these storms. Let alone for those people that live here and endure these storms each and every spring!

To sum it up, thanks to all those who messaged us or posted on our threads. This was a great experience... Now if my wife will let me do this again next year!!!!

Thanks again and be safe...
Mark

 

[Jason Boggs]

Glad you had fum Mark. Also, congrats on your first ever storm chase!

 

[Joey Ketcham]

So my friend and I decided to leave Michigan on Thursday morning and do some storm chasing on Friday. This was our first time chasing and befriended some great people here on stormtrack. So off we went. We made it to Joplin MO and spent Thursday night there. Well, let's just say we awoke to a great storm (much better from Michigan standards). A line of storms rolled through and got our blood moving pretty well. Then the tornado sirens blared! That was round 1...
Mark

I'm confused by your timeline.

If you stayed the night in Joplin, MO on Thursday night into Friday, the only storms you would have been affected by would be the squall line that plowed through between 7-9AM on Friday morning. Nothing was occurring in or near Joplin at either 1AM Friday morning or 1PM Friday afternoon that would have prompted the sirens to blare.

When did the sirens sound in Joplin, and why? There was a tornado warning issued for northern Jasper county early on Friday morning at about 7:20ish, but Joplin was never in the path of that storm so the sirens should have never sounded. Sounds to me like you were waken by sirens that were tripped by a power surge or something. But your timeline still doesn't make sense... the "That was round 1" you mention??? I live 25 miles from Joplin, MO and am very familiar with the actual timeline of the events that happened, that's why I'm confused by your timeline.

Either way, glad you had fun.

 

[Rob Satkus]

I'm confused by your timeline.

If you stayed the night in Joplin, MO on Thursday night into Friday, the only storms you would have been affected by would be the squall line that plowed through between 7-9AM on Friday morning. Nothing was occurring in or near Joplin at either 1AM Friday morning or 1PM Friday afternoon that would have prompted the sirens to blare.

When did the sirens sound in Joplin, and why? There was a tornado warning issued for northern Jasper county early on Friday morning at about 7:20ish, but Joplin was never in the path of that storm so the sirens should have never sounded. Sounds to me like you were waken by sirens that were tripped by a power surge or something. But your timeline still doesn't make sense... the "That was round 1" you mention??? I live 25 miles from Joplin, MO and am very familiar with the actual timeline of the events that happened, that's why I'm confused by your timeline.

Either way, glad you had fun.

It's late so maybe I misread something, but I don't see any issues (unless some editing occured before I saw this)...They got in Thursday night, woke up to the storms in the morning then headed into Ok during the afternoon...seems pretty straightforward. I don't see anything about 1pm or 1am? Unless, like I said some editing was done. I looked at the SPC log and it shows reports of golfballs and 70mph winds in Joplin with some damage reported...also a report of 93mph winds in Carthage...could the sirens have been blown for the extreme winds? Just asking.

Rob

 

[Jason Boggs]

I think the round 1 is what's confusing some folks. I think he means it was round 1 (like a boxing match) not around 1.

 

[Todd Friskey]

I'm confused by your timeline.
When did the sirens sound in Joplin, and why? There was a tornado warning issued for northern Jasper county early on Friday morning at about 7:20ish, but Joplin was never in the path of that storm so the sirens should have never sounded. Sounds to me like you were waken by sirens that were tripped by a power surge or something.

Joey...I also heard the sirens go off, I was at work at the time. The Joplin Emergency Management office has this policy in place to sound the sirens when the NWS reports a storm system approaching the city with sustained winds of 75 mph or greater. That's why they went off even though there was no official tornado warning for the city proper. I always wondered about that to when I first moved here. I think its a good idea considering the large elderly population of Joplin and the fact most homes do not have basements.
Todd

 

[Shane Adams]

Yeah I'm not seeing the issue either....sounds like two guys who just had their first chase experience, loved it, and shared it with ST.

Round 1 = boxing analogy...pretty obvious.

Around 1? I guess I missed the memo on that.

Despite the unnecessary anal probe of your post, congratulations on a great weekend trip and your first chasing endeavor.

 

[Elinor McLennon]

I spoke to those guys by phone around 12:30ish pm on friday. they were in McAlister, Ok. I had plans to possibly chase with them but my plans changed. They said they were in Joplin on thursday night and experienced "round 1". That means exactly what jason boggs and rob are trying to point out. They did not say "Around 1". So I don't see any issues with their timeline unless something has been edited or they were in a different state or country.

Yes, they were new at this, came to Oklahoma, saw the TIV and crew, met some nice people on ST and in Oklahoma, saw a storm and have great stories to tell. I PM'd them alot with useful websites, etc and let them figure things out from there and it sounds like they got what they came here for: FUN! One of the guys says he is a firefighter/paramedic and if you were in need of help I bet you would have been glad he was around. Thank you to those of you who took the time to treat someone with kindness and showed them how awesome people in Oklahoma and on ST can be....hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Ok, yeah the "round 1" part confused me.. it was late when I read that. I read that as him saying around 1am or 1pm. That's what confused me.

 

[Elinor McLennon]

That's cool, I've made many mistakes in my life from being tired, having kids, life in general. Sorry if I sounded grumpy. Just seemed as if these guys were catching a hard time from the beginning of them contacting ST. I'm impressed that they drove that far on a whim, a hope, a dream. That's what life is about and I am always willing to help anyone who treats me with kindness and respect.

 

[Melissa Jablonski]

I think they had the derecho come through Joplin. That probably caused the siren trip. Glad the chase turned out so well.
Melissa

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I bet these guys are just as bored as me on the drive back to cold, cloudy, rainy Michigan

Glad to hear you guys had a good time. The derecho looked amazing, and some of the damage I saw along I-44 was pretty impressive. I almost wish I had gone up there Friday morning to chase, but then I probably would have just given up on southern OK on Friday evening, which means there would have been 10 wedges

 

[jshields]

Joey...I also heard the sirens go off, I was at work at the time. The Joplin Emergency Management office has this policy in place to sound the sirens when the NWS reports a storm system approaching the city with sustained winds of 75 mph or greater. That's why they went off even though there was no official tornado warning for the city proper. I always wondered about that to when I first moved here. I think its a good idea considering the large elderly population of Joplin and the fact most homes do not have basements.
Todd

here in omaha, they also sound the sirens whenever winds are supposed to be over 70-75+mph. last year we had a bow echo come through and the sirens were going off 20 minutes before the storm even hit!

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

Congrats! You (as well as my normal stormchasing partner) caught a derecho event that may take years to top, and that I would have gladly surrendered 'naders to chase.

 

[Jennifer Combs]

Joey...I also heard the sirens go off, I was at work at the time. The Joplin Emergency Management office has this policy in place to sound the sirens when the NWS reports a storm system approaching the city with sustained winds of 75 mph or greater. That's why they went off even though there was no official tornado warning for the city proper. I always wondered about that to when I first moved here. I think its a good idea considering the large elderly population of Joplin and the fact most homes do not have basements.
Todd

Springfield, MO does this also. I was confused when I moved here 2yrs ago and the tornado sirens were going off but there was no threat of tornadoes. One of the local meteorologists finally explained that the sirens are sounded for certain wind speeds, during this explanation it was also reported that some school buses got blown over, so now I understand the sirens.

Anyway, congrats to those on their first chase!